Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Remember Eat, Pray, Love? The novel and film about a divorcee travelling the world to ‘find’ herself, or well, to cope with her existential crisis? Director Rachel Morrison’s 2026 film Love of Your Life follows Margaret Qualley as nurse Maya, who is grieving her beloved husband Charlie (Gabriel Basso) while she eats, cries and runs across the globe after ghosting everybody she knows.
Well, that said, Love of Your Life is probably more memorable, especially since its opening half-hour is dedicated to Maya and Charlie’s romance. They meet as strangers when Maya visits nerdy Charlie’s place to buy something second-hand, and he not-so-smoothly tries to get her to go on a date. But it’s somehow charming. Soon, they’re falling in love, going on dates and getting married in a simple, sweet, intimate little wedding ceremony. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hits, turning Maya’s daily life as a nurse into a nightmarish struggle, but at least she has Charlie to greet her with a smile and home-cooked meals.
The romantic first act lays a strong foundation for Maya’s loss, making viewers miss Charlie just as much as she does. Gabriel Basso’s Charlie looks like a tough guy but is actually a thoughtful, kind, nurturing man, well-loved by family and friends. Maya, on the other hand, has never really had a family. Her father was never in the picture, and her mother is distant, living in another country, so she nearly has a panic attack at the thought of meeting Charlie’s family (Catherine Keener plays his mother).
The only person Maya really considers family is her college friend Jason (Patrick Schwarzenegger), a flaky character with weirdly little screen time despite being a crucial part of the story. And just when you think there might be some sort of triangle, Love of Your Life thankfully keeps things platonic between them. Jason and Charlie become best buds, close enough for Maya to feel like the third wheel. It’s cute.
Of course, these people aren’t around as much in the second half of the film, where Maya quits her job at the hospital, takes up a remote role and travels to distract herself from the gaping hole Charlie’s death has left in her heart. From around the 40-minute mark, the pace begins to dip, and Love of Your Life struggles to stay interesting. Maya understandably flounders, but the new characters don’t make much of an impact. Aaron Pierre plays Felix, a divorced dad Maya connects with abroad, but the chemistry between the actors is lacklustre. There’s some promise of a memorable ‘second chance’ love story, but that doesn’t quite materialise either.
I last saw Margaret Qualley in The Substance, where she played an eerily doll-like diva, just what the role required. But here in Love of Your Life, she’s grounded, sensitive and relatable as Maya, a young woman with insecurities, fears and a bleeding heart. She’s a joy to watch, even when her character makes frustrating decisions and self-sabotages.
Maya’s inability to cope with her husband’s passing might seem strange to some, considering she’s an emergency nurse who deals with death and tragedy almost daily. But it’s also one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the film, illustrating how even a lifetime of experience dealing with other people’s suffering can do little to prepare someone for a devastating personal loss.
By its final moments, Love of Your Life starts resembling one of those generic ‘love yourself’ films, complete with Maya achieving conveniently feel-good closure with almost everybody. For me, some of it felt phony, but Margaret Qualley’s heartfelt performance and Maya’s messy, flawed journey make ‘Love of you Life’ worth a watch, even if the film only scratches the surface of grief.
Watch Love of Your Life on Prime Video.
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